National Association of Women in Masonry

When our old pressure washer died, my husband decided that he wanted a smaller washer that was electric. When we started looking online for a replacement we came across some positive reviews for the Karcher K3.540 electric pressure washer. It had all the features that we were looking for as well as being made by Karcher, one of the leading pressure washer brands.

As we don’t intend to use the pressure washer for heavy duty projects, this electric pressure washer would do everything we need it to. Some of the projects that we usually use a washer for are:

- washing down our vinyl siding on the house

- cleaning off our deck in the spring

- rinsing down our barbecue in the fall

- spraying old paint off our fence so that we can repaint

Most of the tasks only require us to pull out our pressure washer every once in a while which is why we could get away with a smaller washer. If you intend to use your pressure washer more frequently or for larger tasks then you will probably want to invest in a larger Karcher pressure washer model.

Our old lawn mower bit the dust last spring, right before mowing season so we knew that we needed to find one sooner than later. When I started to check online for different mower reviews, I came across a review for a Fiskars Momentum push reel lawn mower. I remember way back when I was a kid, that we had a reel mower however this mower definitely was not the same mower my dad used. I was very intrigued by the mower as it had many positive aspects to it. Not only was I reducing nasty fuel emissions into the air, but I wouldn’t have to worry ever again about running out of gas halfway through the mowing job. I also knew that my wife would appreciate not having to fight with a starter to get the mower started as this is very much a source of frustration for her when she opts to mow. Another added bonus was that because the mowing would be done without any source of power – we had to ‘put our own back into it’ which meant that I could mow one day and skip the daily gym routine without any slacking on my part.

Summer is my favorite time of year – the sun shining, breeze blowing and birds tweeting. Of course I often don’t get the opportunity to enjoy this part of summer with running around after to little kids however I do know that I plan on enjoying it much more this summer. All because my husband bought me a Pawley’s Island hammock that I plan on putting between two trees in our backyard. Not only is it nice and shady but it is also far enough from the kids playhouse that their roudy noises will only be a distant background noise. 

As my hammock will be center stage in this part of my backyard, I have already started drawing up landscaping ideas so that I can start work as soon as the ground thaws. A nice windy path of wood chips, green hostas flanking the trees and a huge elephant ear plant to hide my fence. It will take a few years to totally get established however I am looking forward to many years relaxing on my new rope hammock with a really good book – or may just use it for an afternoon siesta!

For us in the North, spring time often means there is still snow on the ground though hardy perennials such as crocuses, tulips and daffodils still pop through to get us excited for the upcoming planting season. On my annual greenhouse expedition I love shopping for new varieties of old favourites, often bringing more plants home that I know what to do with. My neighbours often laugh at my exuberance of plant buying as they pass by the house as I often have up to 5 different flats of flowers all waiting for their planters. While I may have too many plants they always seem to find a home in my array of containers.

With planting all these plants in containers, I used to do it kneeling on our cement sidewalk with a wheelbarrow full of potting mixture however this past year my kids got together and bought me the best potting bench. Not only do I not have to kneel anymore, but I also have a place to store my soil so that it is handy without having to lug up the bag. While I love all aspects of gardening, having a proper bench for planting has made a huge difference in not feeling so many aches when I am done for the day.

I have now had a coolaroo shade sail for some time, the model was the Coolaroo 16-Foot-by-5-Inch Triangle Shade Sail with Hardware Kit and it is like a dream come true! OK, maybe that seems a little over the top, but it isn’t. It has allowed me to spend so much more time outside on the patio as it does souch a wonderful job of cooling down the whole area.

This is the beauty of these shade sails. They are not just giving you a small shaded area, like a patio umbrella will do. They can cover a large expanse, and you can set them up high so you don’t constantly have to duck to get some shade either.

Although they can take some time to set up if you cannot attach them to the house, the work is certainly worth it. At the most it would take you a day or so if you had to install poles, but then you are going to have years of pleasant days sat outside, protected from the Sun and feeling nice and cool at the same time too.

This is a long term investment for minimal cost and it really will transform how you use your outdoor spaces.

Many people are apprehensive to buy a mini fridge knowing that many of these appliances do not have a freezer feature. While this is often true, there are also mini fridges that have built in separate freezer – usually mounted on top.

If you are looking for a mini refrigerator with accompanying freezer functionality, then don’t choose those portable mini fridges that have a capacity of 5 cu. ft. or under. They are generally the ones that only offer refrigeration features, but no freezer features.

Choose a mini refrigerator that has two-doorse (one for the refrigerator and one for freezer) with capacity of at least 7 cu. ft. up but not more than 14 cu. ft. Usually the best deals for this specific design are for sizes in between these two extremes.

Mini refrigerators (otherwise referred to as portable refrigerators or compact fridges) are a special type  of refrigerator that combines space saving features with functionality and portability. To meet the increasing demands of todays fast paced world, mini fridges are oftentimes preferred over standard sized models because it is easy to carry or move them around from one place to the other.

The smallest portable fridges you will come across with are those that can only accommodate 1.6 cu. ft. capacity more or less, like Frigidaire’s LFP16M4LB compact fridge or Koolatron’s Coca-Cola fridges that can hold up to 28 beverage cans. But be warned that these types of mini fridges don’t have dual refrigerator-freezer functionality.